Community First Bancorp, parent company of Community First Bank Inc., has announced an agreement to sell the bank’s subsidiary, SeaTrust Mortgage Co., to Glen Allen, Va.-based Primis Bank.
Primis will purchase 100% of the SeaTrust stock in an all-cash transaction. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of each company and is expected to close May 31, 2022, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, the companies said. No further details of the transaction were disclosed.
SeaTrust, which opened for business in February 2020, is headquartered in Wilmington, N.C., and has offices in Wilmington, Charlotte, Greensboro, and Jacksonville, N.C.; Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Jacksonville, Fla.; and Franklin and Nashville, Tenn.
Community First President & CEO Richard D. Burleson called the sale “bittersweet.”
"We built a great team of mortgage lenders and a sophisticated technology platform for mortgage originations.” Burleson said. “However, with our acquisition in 2021 of Security Federal Bank in Elizabethton, Tenn., we have been able to expand our inhouse mortgage products and now find a reduced need for a mortgage subsidiary.”
He added the sale will allow Community First to focus its resources on “expanding its commercial, retail, and small business lending offerings in the communities we serve."
Community First Bank Inc., a South Carolina chartered community bank, operates eight banking offices in the South Carolina communities of Seneca, Walhalla, Anderson, Williamston, Westminster, and Greenville; two banking offices in North Carolina, in Charlotte and Dallas; two banking offices in Elizabethton, Tenn.; and two loan production offices in Waynesville, N.C., and Kingsport, Tenn.
As of March 31, 2022, Primis Bank had $3.22 billion in total assets, $2.39 billion in total loans, and $2.69 billion in total deposits, according to its first quarter earnings report. Primis provides a range of financial services to individuals and small- and medium-sized businesses through 40 full-service branches in Virginia and Maryland, and provides services to customers through online and mobile applications.
